Presents Resurrection 04 - Cheap Shots… …from the hotel bar with Suzy Sucker Punch & Donkey Dan! *********************************  Hello again all!  Suzy Sucker Punch on hand here and once again I’m lucky enough to get to do back to back Cheap Shots with our very own Donkey “Dan”.  Hare has been cooking up great stuff in the back-office, but it’s kept him too busy to sit down with Donkey for a preview of late, so bonus for me and Donkey, we get to say what we want, review what we want and basically have free reign while the boss is away! And for that, we’re set to look back at Resurrection 04 which took place this past weekend at the Hard Knocks Arena in Sydney.  Once again, Donkey has been good enough to join me at “The Bar Down Undah”, which is basically the bar at the hotel across the street from SPPS headquarters here in Sydney and just a half block down from the Hard Knocks arena.  I can’t wait to really dig into Donkey’s thoughts on what he saw in the fights and what they mean for our young fighters and their camps! Resurrection 04, similar to 03, saw a nice split between decisions and finishes at 50/50 but surprisingly no submissions this time out.  We usually get at least one or two!  And let’s not forget that there was another title for SPPS Resurrection on the line, making it the second title fight since SPPS was “resurrected”, this time for the Welterweight division.  I’m told that we’ll get that in a special review of Juice Fluffer’s calls, but we’ll cover the rest here in just a moment! *********************** Suzy Sucker Punch:  Well Donkey, here we are again just a week later after our first sit-down here in the bar.  I’ll leave it to the fans to decide if Hare is actually very busy with organization stuff or if he’s just dropping the ball in our laps…let the people decide!  But I’m not disappointed either way, a chance to sit down and pick your brain is always a good time and I think one that the fans enjoy as well. Donkey “Dan”:  Always my pleasure to be here, Suzy, even if the cotton tail is off doing whatever it is that a wabbit gets up to!  We doing this a bit more casual again this evening for Resurrection 04? SSP:  That’s the plan, Donkey.  The producers seem to think that a less defined layout works to break up the monotony now and then, so I’m on board with that if you are.  What do you say we jump right in?  I’m sure you saw my general commentary about the event in the intro? DD:  I did, and the part that I agree with whole heartedly is the surprise over no submissions on the night!  Anybody who has seen my picks and predictions in the past knows that I love a good ground game so for me that was slightly disappointing.  But there were also some unexpected highlights, so I think in the end it all balances out and we have a solid event that the fans enjoyed. SSP:  Let’s run with that thought there if you don’t mind!  I peeked at the ‘of the Night’ awards and it seems like the night started out with just that, one of those unexpected highlights?  Want to jump in right from the start there and tell us what you saw? DD:  Zviadi Zotikshvili and Sam Guinness were first out of the gate but they didn’t let that affect the energy they brought to the Hard Knocks Arena, Suzy!  These two Lightweights danced for three full rounds and it wasn’t one of these tip-toeing around situations either, both were aggressive on the feet with the judges alternating between the two.  Clearly they enjoyed the fight as much as we did, and as much as they’re allowed to as they stay objective.  SSP:  First out of the gate, if we’re being honest here Donkey, usually doesn’t bring a lot of hype with it.  These are the guys who are usually either just starting out their career, trying to resurrect it, or who have just hit a nasty rough spell and need a turnaround.  This was a case of the former I think though, right?  DD:  A little bit of both if I’m being honest.  Guinness is in that position where he was 1-3 and needed to put back to back wins together, his last under former manager Johnny Tirado and this SPPS debut under new manager Hikmah.  He and his camp will come away disappointed to have taken a tough fought decision loss.  But, we had a feeling that Zotikshvili…let’s go with Zot here…had the potential to rise to the top quickly.  He didn’t have a lot of experience prior to joining Sucker Punch with only a single QFC fight under his belt, but we’d seen his workouts and what little cage experience he had and knew his skillset was impressive.  He has the mindset to get it done.  SSP:  Donkey, after his first win, Hare had already told me that there was a chance this guy gets a title shot sooner than later if he continued to win.  But let’s get into it for real here, one of the rules we gave ourselves when we talked about sitting down to casually discuss the fights was that we would never candy-coat things for the fans.  I’ve been told by Hare that Zot is indeed getting a title shot now that he won this second fight.  That will come on October 5th at Resurrection 07 against Koen Bauweraerts.  But here comes the honesty.  The Lightweight division at SPPS is a bit, well, light on fighters currently.  That’s something Hare is working on daily. Would Zot get this shot if the division was deeper? DD:  Probably not Suzy.  At least, not yet.  With a deeper division I think Hare would have liked to see that P4P ranking and hype come up a bit more prior to offering a title shot. Do I think Zot would have gotten a shot?  Yes.  Do I think it would have been as quickly?  Perhaps not.  Probably not to be fair.  But let’s not take anything away from what he brings to the table…a solid chin, a clear drive to win and, while this one was over an opponent with a losing record, that first win was over McFoy who was 4-0 at the time going into the fight.  Don’t overlook this guy, he could surprise the world on October 5th! SSP:  Let’s continue getting into the real talk here.  With the division being a bit light at the moment, what do you see for the division going forward?  I know we’re getting a bit off the path here as far as discussing Resurrection 04, but I think this is the type of stuff that the fans want to know about.     DD:  That’s fair, Suzy.  Here’s where I see this going.  If Zot wins the title, this division is blown wide open in terms of the chaos that will ensue!  And, I love that.  It’ll mean that we see if Koen Bauweraerts bounces right back and comes hard at getting the belt back.  It’ll mean we continue to watch Gunt Jernit to see if he positions himself for another title shot after losing the first title fight for the division to Bauweraerts.  And Walter Hardwell White is sitting at 7-1 right now with a win over McFoy in his SPPS debut and four back to back dubs.  His skills are still a little bit in development, but he’s a serious threat to the division if he keeps it up!  And of course, as much as I love to goof on Hare, you know he’s out there trying to build the division further, so a lot potentially going on in that scenario.  SSP:  For a small division, that’s a lot of intrigue.  But what about the other scenario, where Bauweraerts retains his title? DD:  I think in that scenario the situation remains unchanged for Jernit as well as the potential for White.  Obviously. But it does leave a potential gap in things unless Hare is able to recruit sooner than later.  I’ve spoken with Hare about that scenario, and I think he’s leaning heavily towards trying to put together a cross-promotion fight for the champ at that point to keep things interesting for the fans! SSP:  Oh!!!  Now that I didn’t know, and that would be a lot of fun!  Do we have a promotion in mind?  DD:  We do, but I don’t want to really throw that out there yet because it’s a very soft bit of information at the moment and I don’t like to set anybody up for disappointment. We’ll definitely deliver that kind of news if things get more certain though! SSP:  Wow, well, we really got in deep there and into that rabbit hole, no pun intended towards Hare!  And we used up a bunch of time for our discussion with only having touched on one fight from Resurrection 04 so far!  Let’s move on a bit, ok?  DD:  Sure thing, Suzy!  Want to jump right to the ‘KO of the Night’? SSP:  Donkey, you’re incorrigible!  You just love the awards!  And why not, I mean, they do go to some of the best fighters and/or fights, right?  But we can’t just let you have all the ‘dessert’ up front without making you work for it, now can we?  Tell you what, why don’t you give us a quick cursory overview of the two fights in between and then we can get to the ‘KO of the Night’ fight, which was the fourth of the evening? DD:  Fair enough.  I suppose.  *fake frowns*  Ok, let’s just swing into the very next fight, a Middleweight battle between Jimmy Uso and Stanley Wagon.  This fight had me completely and totally perplexed, Suzy!  Nothing about this fight was what I expected.  On paper, I though, “Oh, this fight goes to Wagon, sure, I can see that pretty well.”  But in reality, this was a fight that was a real head-scratcher!  Wagon’s advantage in this fight was on the feet.  Uso has useless boxing and Muay Thai, but better wrestling.  So what does Wagon do?!?  He not only takes the fight into the clinch…but then repeatedly tries, and succeeds in some cases, to take it to the ground.  Uso was totally ineffective on the feet, but his only shot was on the ground…and sure enough, that approach bit Wagon in the butt with a late round TKO. SSP:  It doesn’t sound like anything was done right in that fight, Donkey!  At least, from a strategy and approach perspective.  And, I was told that the manager cut Wagon from his roster afterward?  That seems…well, unfair? DD:  I really do feel for the kid.  That loss was NOT on that kid’s head.  That was a total failure in strategy by the manager who sent the kid out there with instructions that were doomed for failure.  Hopefully this kid gets picked up and gets another shot with a manager who utilizes his skills better.  I mean, he was winning that fight!!!  It’s a shame.  But let’s move on to the next battle for the evening, where we had Welterweights Neo Till and Deimos Arima step into the cage.  Another fight that left the loser without a camp afterwards!  It’s an epidemic I tell ya!  SSP:  I’m getting the feeling you don’t agree with this pink slip either? DD:  Not really.  We don’t know a ton about Till.  He’s only had two professional fights so far, both here at SPPS.  He’s won both, and he appears to have some serious power behind those hands of his.  And that’s the part that makes me think that perhaps Arima got the short end of a stick here and maybe should have been given a little more of a chance.  We do know that Arima has KO power.  We don’t know about his chin or heart much yet.  And honestly, I don’t know that one TKO gives you that information, certainly not against a guy who might have nasty power and looks to have come out swinging for the KO.  I thought that Arima’s corner did him right by having him move the fight to the clinch, that was his advantage and if he could have kept it there, it might have gone another way.  But instead, this was a flash KO practically, ending early in the first.  Good on Till, I like what I see, but we’re going to be watching to see what his morale looks like if he ever loses!    SSP:  That’s actually a great blitz through a review of a fight, Donkey!  Well done, I liked that.  Now, ok, let’s get to it.  ‘KO of the Night’ time.  I know you’ve been chomping at the bit, so give it to us…our fourth fight of the night, and the second of our two ‘of the Night’ awards already out the door and delivered!  Wow!  Hare really is taking a different approach than we typically see.  What made this one special between our Light Heavyweights, Scotty T Bone and Harris Kobelikos?  DD:  Knowing Hare as long as I have, I can confidently say that two things led to this pick for the award.  First, it was a fast, early in the first KO that took a single shot…no pouncing on the guy for multiple strikes to finish it, just a highlight reel uppercut from hell, as the announcers called it!  Second, it happened early in the event, which set the crowd frothing at the mouth.  Hare loves that, it hypes the crowd up and makes the entire evening start snowballing in a positive way.  And that’s why the fans gave this flash KO an 80% rating!  SSP:  Wow, so what does this do for each of these guys? DD:  Well, for T Bone, it helps erase the loss he took in his SPPS debut to a degree.  He’s back on track, and as a talented fighter, has the chance to really climb that ladder.  There’s a lot of talent in this division, so he has his work cut out, but if he stays focused he can do it.  For Kobelikos, well, it’s another setback as he goes to 2-6 on the career with back to back losses after this one in his SPPS debut.  Let’s hope he can take a hard look at what he needs to adjust with his camp over the next month, and come back strong.  I will say a couple things…kids got determination, we know that, but does he have the chin to support that determination?  Right now, the results are making that a valid question. But also, his camp has to do better by him, and by that, I mean give this kid some new clothes, get him cleaned up, move that morale needle up some so this kid comes into the cage with some confidence and in good spirits.  It’s hard to get up for a fight if you literally, not figuratively, stink and are wearing the same gear you practice in every day! SSP:  Some great advice right there!  Folks, and those in charge over there for Kobelikos, well, Donkey knows what he’s talking about, he’s been around for a while.  You may want to take his words to heart and make it happen.  Now, normally we would skip around a lot, just touch on what we want to from an event, but this one keeps lining up for us in a way that makes us want to really just keep moving forward, in order even!  And given the next fight, the last on the Undercard, was another flash KO that could have also been awarded ‘KO of the Night’, let’s look at that as well? DD:  Another great one, Suzy!  And yes, Hare was TORN over which fighter to give the ‘KO of the Night’ to, with this being a very close runner-up!  Benjamin Walton showed us some serious firepower out there tonight when he dropped Scherwin Blake just one minute and twelve seconds in…and put the Welterweight division on notice!  He’s also got a granite chin, so this guy could become one of the most dangerous to step into the cage with going forward.  SSP:  Here’s what I’d like to ask you though, Donkey.  With both a granite chin and obvious power in those hands, why does Walton have a losing record in his pro career so far? DD:  Well, two possible reasons.  First, he has a lot of fights under his belt already for a kid who is only 25 years old.  That means a bit of lost time training, as he’s spending time preparing for fights and then recovering.  That can’t be changed now.  But also, see those losses he’s taken?  Quite a few stoppages there.  Yes, he has a granite chin, but one has to wonder, does he have the heart to do with it?  A rock solid chin is great, but not if you don’t have the willpower to stand in there and use it.  That COULD be an issue, but we don’t know for sure.   Perhaps this man just needs to focus on a couple of key skills here and there to fix things right up!  SSP:  And Blake?  He seems to have a great skillset, and had some success prior to SPPS.  But he’s 0-3 over his last three fights, two of them here.  What’s going on?  DD:  It’s really difficult to say, Suzy.  I honestly don’t know.  Is it the kid?  Does he not have ‘it’?  Or maybe he’s still got some things he’s working on and isn’t quite ‘there’ yet?  I’m a bit stumped.  Honestly, I’d love it if you sat down with his manager, Runt, to see what he has to say.  Runt’s been around Sucker Punch a long time and I feel like he’d give you some honest answers and even provide some great commentary for the fans.  Just a thought!  Not trying to give you more work to do here!  Well, I am, but only because I think it’d be great. SSP:  Ok, well, we’re almost out of time here, and the Title Fight that happened at Resurrection 04 is going to be covered in a special piece.  The four fights leading up to it on the Main Card, including the Co-Main Event, were all fights that went the distance for a decision.  Two of them came in at 35% rating, so the fans really didn’t get into them much.  But the other two, including the Co-Main, were at least in the sixties, do you want to touch on those two real fast and we’ll sign off for the evening? DD:  Let’s do it!  Chris Berman mode engaged?!?  Nah, maybe not.  But here we go…So the next highest rated fight by the fans was the Co-Main as you mentioned between Middleweights Savaje Bebe Chai and Omar Raharu.  And I would have been disappointed if this one hadn’t been highly anticipated and appreciated by the fans, as it was a rematch after they fought to a Majority Draw the last time, their SPPS debut in August. I liked Raharu’s chances in this one as he was the more skilled ground fighter, and he didn’t disappoint.  He won all three rounds, but once again, just as in the first fight, the ground didn’t come into play at all in this fight!  Surprisingly.  I really thought that THAT might be the adjustment this time around, but nope, not the case.  Instead, it seemed like Raharu’s camp leaned into what they had going for them in the first fight, clearly feeling like they were the more aggressive corner in that first one and likely feeling like they should have won.  I honestly can’t argue with that, a solid case could be made.  That approach worked, as this time he got all three rounds and I’m sure a bit of satisfaction over some “justice” as they might have seen it for the last draw. Our other fight that got a decent rating at 62% was two before that, a Lightweight showdown between Walter Hartwell White and Brian McFoy.  McFoy took this one in and out of the clinch so often it was dizzying over the course of the three rounds.  Unfortunately for McFoy, he wasn’t able to really gain the advantage there and it cost him a lot of energy most likely.  White, who we talked about earlier this evening in passing, was the more aggressive fighter boxing, and that paid off in the end.  I’d like to see both of these kids learn to integrate the feet into their plans a little bit more going forward though, as that can sometimes make a big difference if you’re fighting for a decision. SSP:  Nicely done, Donkey!  And there we have it, I’m going to once again thank Donkey, thank our fans and our fighters, managers, everybody, and wish everybody a great night as we prepare for Resurrection 05 coming up in just a couple days!  Till then…as Hare would say… Keep it cheap and dirty…Sucker Punch style! P.S.  Stay tuned over the next day or so as Juice Fluffer will be coming at you with the results of the last title fight from Resurrection 04!

Sorry @Carciofi was just tied up with work and hadnt checked the forum in a couple days. Considering these would be past the 48 hours since the initial bids you can have them for the $100k each.

Or an extension to the private gyms... coaches that can be set to private (for the gym owner) and others set to public. Extra 500 skill points that can go to public coaches, if you don't use all your 3000, the extra can also be put into a public coach. 

Tedious

The Official Weights Of The Boxers Competing September 20 In Dublin, Ireland Read the Full Article Here[url={url}]View the full article[/url]